How An Overseas Sojourn Shaped The Ways Of Seeing For Three Gen Z Artists
A DJ, photographer and indie pop princess share how a change of perspective and space helps the creative mind.
By Nicholas See ,
Lived experiences are at the core of every creative’s work – which is why artists tend to expand their worldviews to drastically in order to inform their oeuvre. Ahead, FEMALE speaks to three young creatives who have recently returned from their creative jorney abroad and learn how getting away helped to shape what they do.
The works of India-born, Myanmar-raised photographer Aaditya Sundar explore the themes of relationship between people, time and places. Oftentimes, these are translated into raw and tender photographs that are reflective of the many facets of the human experience. This is most evident in his latest series, 'To Where The Jasmines Bloom', which pays homage to his grandmother by documenting life and spaces in the Indian motherland.
Your series had you traversing India to reconnect with your late grandmother through the spaces and culture there. What motivated you to start this series?
"There was no real motivation to create this body of work in particular. It was my first time being back home in four years. While wading through grief and nostalgia, I realised that I wanted to honour her memory through a medium I was familiar with. Reconnection was never my intention. It was more of organically creating images that I'd excitedly share with her if she were still alive."
Which parts of India did you go to for this documentation?
"The photographs were taken in (the Southern Indian states of) Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh."
During this trip, what reminded you of your grandmother the most?
"Jasmines, ear lobes stretched by heavy gold jewellery, mismatched walls and tulsi plants."
How did this trip transform your perspective on your own practice?
"It essentially reshaped the way I viewed my practice. A large part of my practice used to be rooted in spontaneity. I can say that is no longer the case. I have slowed down considerably and I now take the time to think about what the narrative I'm trying to convey is and how I can do so before the shutter is even pressed."
What message do you wish to convey through this series?
"Despite the impermanent nature of life itself, there are certain things that are rooted within spaces, people and culture that will continue to stand the test of time. I hope my photographs managed to capture a fraction of that."
Formed in 2017, the local indie pop band has garnered a cult following both in Singapore and the United States for its brand of shoe gaze and dream pop. The outfit, which is made up of three main members, wrapped up its first-ever US tour just this March, hitting the music festival circuit for South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas and the New Colossus Festival in New York.
You went on your first tour to the US with the rest of the members of Sobs. What were some of the challenges the band faced on the trip?
"There were honestly so many. A big one was the weather, I definitely didn't consider how touring in winter would affect us the way it did. My throat was always so dry which affected my singing, and my drummer Shaun would soak his hands in a bucket of warm water before going up on stage.
Venues in the US didn't provide equipment as well, so we had to always borrow amps and drumkits from the opening bands. Oh and lastly, there was a lack of personal space for sure! That tour was probably the longest we had to be stuck with one another, but I love that I got to experience it all with them."
What spurred the band to tour around the US?
"We have a lot of listeners in the States, so we've always felt inclined to do it at some point. We also listen to a lot of American bands and artists which definitely influenced the style of our music, consciously or not."
What was the most memorable experience of the tour?
"It's probably getting to meet all our fans, especially the ones who've been supporting us since the early days. That and also all the friends I made along the way."
The band was booked for large-scale events like SXSW Music. How did it feel to be on the line-up along with so many other global acts?
"It was really cool, I had a lot of fun at SXSW, it brought such a great atmosphere to Austin. We played showcases under our label Topshelf Records and got to play alongside our labelmates like Knifeplay and They Are Gutting A Body Of Water, (shoegaze and dream pop) bands that I've loved for a long time."
Did the tour inspire you in any way?
"Definitely. This is the longest tour we did and we went from barely performing (due to Covid) to performing every day to big crowds in a span of like three weeks. It felt really good finally being able to perform the songs on our new album, and I'm just super eager to write more songs and play more shows."
Part of the queer party collective Bussy Temple, Zenon (far left) – DJ moniker Metamoksha – is a familiar presence within Singapore’s visceral rave scene. In April, they went on a cultural exchange of sorts to Saigon, Vietnam along with Malaysian DJs rEmPiT g0dDe$$ (seconf from right) and Suhsi (second from left)
You’ve gone to Saigon for a live takeover at community radio station V2X Radio along with Malaysian DJs Suhsi and rEmPiT g0dDe$$ in April. How was that experience?
"It was really great! I'm really inspired by the DJ ecosystem at Saigon, V2X Radio provides a platform for upcoming talents to express their artistic expression and experiment around sounds and selections, I felt free and safe to play whatever I wanted that felt authentic to me. I had such a great time and the crew there along with the other DJs/friends I met made it a great experience. V2X Radio also has a music academy where well-seasoned DJs and musicians get to share their knowledge and skills, Saigon seem to have a very healthy ecosystem of DJ community to pass knowledge to each other and help improve each other’s craft. It’s very beautiful."
During that trip, you also managed to catch prominent rave club Arcan’s fifth Anniversary party. What were some of the similarities or differences you’ve found to the local rave scene in Singapore?
"Arcan is one of the best non-commercial club spaces I know so far in Asia that I would consider underground; it lives up to its ethos in hosting a very diverse set of DJs globally and locally to promote underground subculture music genres. Aside from its own curation, it also hosts various artists/DJs/collectives locally and globally who would take over the night from time to time.
Apart from attending Arcan's anniversary party, I also attended rEmPiT g0dDe$$'s headlining act there. V2X Radio also took over the space the following week and held a “graduation ball” where DJ graduates from its V2X Academy get to make their “official debut” at the event. The next night saw a party curated by (gender-bending Saigon-based DJ and producer) Puppy Ri0t where she invited rEmPiT g0dDe$$, Suhsi, me, and two other Saigon DJs to perform. It’s so beautiful to see club spaces hosting different collectives and artists to curate each night.
Club spaces like Arcan encourage diversity in the night scene in both Saigon and Asia – we don't have that at all for club spaces in Singapore. Often times commercial club spaces lack soul and are always curated and driven mainly by profit; subculture genres are not really celebrated or accessible in club spaces. Even techno clubs here are no longer underground to me: they’re now overcharged and clearly not accessible for people without good income and their music curation is not diverse. It’s so disappointing when a genre that started for the subculture and for the people gets commodified and becomes inaccessible to everyone. When you enter spaces like that you’ll feel it lacks soul.
I think this is exactly why there are a lot of rising independent collectives like Bussy Temple, Endless Return and Strange Weather organising our own raves and fostering our own community, diversity and music curation. Raves in Singapore – especially if they're organised by independent collectives – are political. They're created out of necessity first, and profit second. Most of the time, gatherings at rave spaces are an unspoken form of protest and a silent acknowledgement of the shared struggles and systemic oppression of capitalism and patriarchy that tears our souls and wears our bodies down.
So while we don’t have official club spaces like Arcan, I actually find it much more meaningful when independent collectives host their parties. They’re usually also so much more well curated and rich in terms of posters, set-up and concepts."
How has this trip inspired you in your craft?
"My craft – be it my paintings, writings or DJ sets/mixes – is always drawn from the excess of energy within and around me. They’re an outlet for me to allow myself to come face-to-face with the intensity of my emotions, trauma, and drama that I have experienced, and are very personal and often emotional. I started DJ-ing because I wanted to explore expressing my crafts in different ways. I can tell a person’s essence by listening to their sets. So DJs I am inspired by are usually people with more intersections in their identity, usually Asians, trans, and non-men. Their sets usually feel more authentic, bold, and filled with soul and passion. They tell an interesting story.
That’s what I felt when I listened to the DJs in Saigon. There’s so much flavour and richness to their soundscape. rEmPiT g0dDe$$ and I reflected on the scene at Saigon and we both agreed that the sets at Saigon are hedonistic, sapphic, Hi-NRG (high energy) and definitely not for the weak. The DJ techniques are signified with brashness, speed, and glitches. To me the sets there really reflect the politics, history, and culture of the city. Most people I meet over-glorify European DJs and would tell me that Berlin is where the scene is. I disagree; I think Asia has all the right ingredients to be the best night scene globally and I have witnessed that personally through all the friends I have met.
This trip has made me more convinced to focus my work on Bussy Temple to focus more on Southeast Asian queer and femme DJs. We’re doing another series of Lethal Fantasies in Oct and it’s going to be a bigger project. I'm very excited about that. Overall this trip has inspired me to be bolder and more authentic in expressing my crafts."
What are some of the most memorable moments of this trip?
"I think my most memorable moments were actually time spent together with Suhsi and rEmPiT g0dDe$$! This trip really brought us closer and made me realise how important it is to have a supportive and genuine community of DJs who push you to express your crafts in the most authentic way. The male-dominated night industry could be daunting, gatekeeping, and mean if you are just starting out and there isn't a healthy community to pass knowledge to each other about the scene. It’s also easy to lose yourself and just end up playing music in accordance with what we think the masses want. While the DJ community here in Singapore is not as close-knit and we don’t have platforms such as DJ academies to share knowledge with each other, I realise that it is more important to find your own community – and I’m so grateful to have found unapologetic and inspiring artists like Suhsi and rEmPiT g0dDe$$ to help each other grow in our artistry and pushing boundaries in this night scene."